Clad in White
by Phiso
Summary: [AU] It is a naturally a country of ice, but magic has altered its landscape. A war wages outside, blinding the people to their country's secret history and inside, there is a young boy, destined to become something he will come to loathe.
1. Prelude

Welcome! I'm happy you've managed to stumble across this story, and I hope you see it through to the end. I expect it to be very long, and I since I have it more or less planned out my only worries are school, other fanfiction ideas, and CLAMP's tendency to screw up theories.

Disclaimer for the entire story: I don't own anything that's not mine.

  
  


**Clad in White**

Part I - Prelude

"_I drift away to a place  
Another kind of life  
Take away the pain  
I create my paradise."_

_-- Alexz Johnson_

  


Snow was falling. It felt like snow was always falling.

Pure white specks of frozen droplets covered everything with a soft but deadly blanket of ice, and as Fai stared out his window, he wondered what would be buried under the snow after the sun set that night.

Fai shivered involuntarily as the thought crossed his mind, and as he pulled his thick white coat closer to his thin frame he glanced around his chambers. The grey stone was bare and cold to the touch; his bed lay unused and naked against a wall. A dark alder desk with delicate finishing and a single silver candlestick holder stood opposite, a black leather journal and white feather quill sitting on the matching chair. A pile of white and pale blue cloth lay in the corner by the window, silver hooks, rings, and bars littering the mound like casualties in a war.

Numbly satisfied at the sight of his ruined room, he turned back to the window, unwilling to look at the space any longer. He had stripped his room for a reason: he didn't want it to belong to him anymore. He didn't want any trace of him left.

The snowflakes fell silently on the castle, one by one, each one counting another second gone by in his life, bringing him closer to the end of his long battle with fate and closer to what he prayed was freedom. He leaned his elbows against the windowsill and allowed the raw cold air to brush against his face

"Ashura-ou," he said softly as he unconsciously fingered his ring, a thick sterling band adorned with complex designs. The brilliant sapphire nestled in the middle reflected the sun's feeble rays, casting a soft glow on the man's pale face. "Clad in white, your slave shall be free."


	2. Blossom

Wee, finally, chapter 2 up! I pray it doesn't bore you and sparks some curiosity into Fai's little world here; I also hope you spot the first of the cameos too. Every character featured will either be invited by CLAMP or me, so look out for them!

I am always looking for lyrics and chapter titles, so if you spot a good song or find a unusual word in the dictionary during class, I would love to hear about it and will give you credit for providing them.

If this DOES bore you, please give me a chance as well as suggest ways to make it less, well, boring.

  
  


**Clad in White**

Part II - Blossom

"_Kono hoshi ni umaretsuita hi_

_(On the day we arrived on this Earth)_

_Kitto nan da ka ureshikute_

_(We were somehow happy,)_

_Kitto nan da ka sestunakute_

_(And somehow it hurt.)"_

_--Ayumi Hamasaki_

  


It was morning. Pure light poured through the window, a brilliant white that cast a mother and her child in an ethereal glow as she swayed back and forth in her rocking chair. A warmth unlike any the country had seen in centuries gently covered the pair like a blanket, soft and comforting. The only sounds that could be heard were the squeaking of wood as the chair rocked; the midwife's footsteps as she bustled about her business; and the small gentle coos of the infant in her arms.

The mother lovingly gazed at her child in wonder, unable to believe that she would be blessed with such a perfect baby boy. She fought the urge to weep as he gave her a goofy smile, the sun's rays dancing in his brilliant blue eyes; his visage was unmistakably his father's, full of light, laughter, and joy. Holding him closer, she began to hum an old lullaby, basking in his body's heat and the pitter-patter of his newborn heart. He was a precious gift, awoken with the dawn and as frail as glass. She would celebrate his life as long as she drew breath, for there was nothing more important in the world to a mother than her child.

The midwife's footsteps grew closer, and soon the mother felt the younger woman's body leaning against the back of the chair behind her. Reaching over the mother's shoulder, the midwife extended her index finger; the babe in return took a hold of the tip and lightly shook it. Amused by the child's playful greeting, she turned her head slightly and asked her charge, "What are you going to name him?"

There was a brief pause, and as the older woman's dark eyes went over her fair son's physique, a single word came to mind.

"Fai," she replied with a content smile, the lump in her throat threatening to return. "Yes. His name shall be Fai."

  


--o--o--

  


"_Aiti!_"

"Yes, Fai?"

"_Aiti, Aiti,_ come look!"

A young boy of three burst into the room in a bundle of energy. Panting slightly, the blond leaned against the wall with one hand as he looked up at his mother; she looked back down on him with a small smile, her cornflower blue sleeves rolled up to her elbows and hands occupied by soapy laundry.

"What is it, Fai?" the woman asked, her brown eyes kind and patient as they surveyed the child in front of her.

"_Aiti_, remember when Anna taught me how to make a snowman?" Fai said breathlessly, hoping up and down on the balls of his feet in eagerness. "Guess what! I made one on my own!"

"Have you now?" his mother said, grinning as she rinsed her hands. Drying them on her apron, she tucked a stray strand of chestnut hair back into her bun and headed for the doorway. "Well then, my little one, why don't you show me your snowman?"

With a cry of joy, the blond bolted outside, and his mother followed him out, pulling down her sleeves in preparation for the cold wind outside. Spotting the small, lop-sided snowman a few yards away from the front door, she crossed her arms and leaned against the entrance's doorframe, chuckling softly as Fai skidded to a stop by his creation. He took one good look at his work before facing his mother, beaming as if he had just finished painting the Sistine Chapel.

"Well, _Aiti_? What do you think?" he asked, his eyes sparkling in anticipation.

"It's magnificent," she replied with a smile. "I don't think I've ever seen a better snowman in my life."

"Really?" His eyes grew large and wide, and he hugged his snowman in shock. With his arms still firmly wrapped around the figure, Fai leaned back and smiled broadly at the fruit of his labor. "Did you hear that, Snowman-san? _Aiti_ thinks you're magnificent!"

This time, another voice interrupted. "She's right, you know."

Both mother and son turned their heads and saw a young woman trudging up the path to their house with a woven basket, slightly flushed but with a friendly smile and a mischievous sparkle in her eye. The faded crimson of her dress stood out starkly against the dark grey buildings looming on either side of her on the narrow path, marking her like a single flower in a field of snow.

"Anna!" Fai let go of his snowman and launched himself at Anna, hitting her with such exuberance she stumbled back a few steps and almost let go of the basket's handle. Laughing, she ruffled his hair affectionately with her free hand as he tightened his grip on her.

"Shuichiro would be happy to hear you call your friend there Snowman-san," she said, shooting the boy a grin.

Fai nodded fervently. Letting go of her waist, he announced, "I want to learn how to use name sufitses like he does!"

"Suffixes, Fai," she corrected him, eyeing him with amusement.

"Suffixes," he repeated, frowning as he tried to memorize the new word.

Glancing at his mother who was observing them with mild interest, she suggested, "Why don't you make Snowman-san a friend? You don't want him to be lonely, do you?"

Fai's expression became one of worried urgency, and he quickly set to work on another snowperson. "Don't worry, Snowman-san!" he chirped as began to pile snow next to his frozen friend, "I'll make a Snowwoman!"

Shaking her head and chortling, Anna made her way over to the doorway, shifting the basket to her other hand and stopping when she reached the other woman's side.

"He certainly is a bundle of energy," she remarked, watching as Fai constructed his next masterpiece.

"All children are at this age," replied the other woman. Turning to her companion, she added with a small grin and a flicker of the eyes towards her stomach, "You should be discovering this soon."

Anna blushed and unconsciously placed a hand on her abdomen. "Nora!"

The elder woman smiled cryptically before shifting her gaze back to her son, now busily working on the head of the snowman.

"How'd you know?" Anna pressed, her face still pink.

"A woman can tell," Nora said smoothly. "Once you become a mother, you will see that it isn't difficult to see when a woman bears a child."

Anna laughed lightly. "I can tell without needing to be an _aiti_; I studied medicine and herbs with my mother, remember? I was your midwife!"

Nora nodded her head once slowly as a nostalgic smile graced her lips. "You were nineteen then."

"And now I'm twenty-two," Anna interjected, displeased at being reminded of her friend's seniority.

Nora chuckled knowingly; a moment later, she suddenly stiffened as if struck by something, and Anna's eyes quickly followed Nora's gaze to Fai. The boy was on his tip-toes, trying to attach a rather large ball of snow to the top of his lopsided pile.

"Be careful, Fai!" Nora called, taking in a sharp breath as he almost dropped his snowwoman's head on his own blond one.

"I'm fine, _Aiti_," he reassured her in a sing-song voice. "I did this with Snowman-san, remember?"

Nora sighed in a mixture of mirth and exasperation as she gave in and let Fai build the thing his own way. "You are lucky you are young," she said, her voice laced with fatigue.

Anna snorted. "Surely you don't mean that. People my age have no say in anything!"

"Trust me, I would rather be your age than mine," Nora replied with a wistful look. "You do not know what you have: youth, health, a good husband, and a future as far away as the horizon."

The tone of Nora's voice caused Anna to give her friend a troubled look. "Nora, it is only six years. Don't speak as if you were already fifty!"

Nora did not answer; a shadow had passed over her pale face, and Anna felt her pulse rise in worry. She opened her mouth, intending to inquire as to what was wrong, when Nora slipped into another topic altogether.

"How is Shuichiro?"

Anna furrowed her brows slightly at the elder woman's slick subject change, irritated by Nora's ability to smoothly avoid any matter she didn't feel like discussing. Still, she complied anyway, hoping it would be enough to bring back Nora's usual serene presence. "He's doing fine. He's enjoying his work, and Kokuyo came to visit yesterday to play cards. They spent the entire night laughing and talking." She looked up at the sky as she talked, the memory bringing a smile to her face. "It was a lot of fun."

Nora paused for a moment before asking, "Did either of them speak of their home country?"

Anna bit her lip. "Sometimes. But," she went on, her voice suddenly taking on a much higher pitch, "he says that Ceres is a wonderful place, and despite the fact that he misses home he's glad he came."

Nora knew Anna was trying to convince herself more than anyone of validity her words, but chose to say nothing. It was lucky for the both of them that Fai had finished his second snowman at that moment, or an uneasy silence would have settled over the pair.

"_Aiti_! Anna! Look!"

The two women turned and saw Fai dancing around two snowmen, one shorter than the other, the taller one wearing his scarf and the smaller one possessing small sticks for what one could only assume were eyelashes.

"Meet Snowwoman-san!" Fai sang out, thrusting out his arms with bravado towards the newest addition of snowperson.

"Fai!" said Nora, horrified. "Put your scarf back on!"

"Aw!" Fai's arms flopped down to his side as he visibly deflated. "But Snowman-san is cold!"

"And so are you," Nora scolded, walking over to the boy and pulling the scarf off the snowman. Wringing it out a few times, she clucked her tongue irritably as she realized it was far too soaked to be worn again.

"Come on, now we have to get you another scarf," she said, gently placing a hand on Fai's back and pushing him towards the house.

"But Snowman-san - "

"Snowman-san will be fine," Nora said firmly but kindly, pointedly ignoring the stifled laughs coming from Anna. "He is made of snow, so the cold does not matter to him. You, however, are made of flesh and blood and can get sick. Come on."

Fai groaned loudly as she ushered him inside; as they entered the house, Nora turned to Anna and asked if she would like to stay for a warm drink.

"That's all right," Anna said with a smile. Lifting up the basket in one hand, she explained, "I have to start dinner for Shuichiro. Thank you, though." As she turned towards the setting sun and made her way down the grey streets, she stopped and looked back, saying, "_Nakemiin!_"

"_Nakemiin!_" Fai called back, popping out from behind his mother's skirts and waving back madly. Nora shushed him and steered him back inside, giving Anna a small wave before shutting the door.

  


--o--o--o--

  


"Why can't I play outside without a scarf?" Fai whined, pouting as he dragged his feet over to the cedar table positioned near the fireplace. Pulling out a chair, he climbed in and made himself comfortable before slumping over the table with his arms sprawled out, looking like a dog who had just been scolded and not sure why.

"I told you, I do not want you to catch a cold," Nora repeated patiently, her eyes focused on the boy's light blue scarf as she wrung it out the best she could over the bucket she had been using to rinse laundry in. Whipping it out a few times to straighten the material, she folded it on the way to the fireplace, hanging it on a hook on the mantle to let the fire dry it out.

"I'll be glad when winter is over," she muttered softly to herself.

"Why, _Aiti_?" Fai chirped from the table, his chin still resting on the table. Wiggling his fingers, he continued, "I like the snow!"

"I like spring." Nora sighed before rolling her sleeves back up and heading back to the laundry. "I prefer flowers to icicles."

"Flowers?" Fai sat up suddenly, and Nora saw with a sudden rush a gleam in his eye she had not seen before. "Hold on, _Aiti_!"

Jumping out of his chair and wrenching open the front door before his mother could utter a word, Fai bent down and made a sloppy snowball with the snow near the entrance before closing the door again with his foot. Frowning deeply in concentration, the young boy cautiously walked towards his mother, softly blowing on the ice in his hand.

"_Aiti,_ look," he whispered, as if afraid his words would cause the snow to melt in his small hands. She knelt down to get a better view, her curiosity now invoked. Blowing one last time on the pile in his hands, a whistle escaped his lips, and Nora watched with wide eyes as azure and fuchsia wisps of light surrounded the mound, shaping and twisting it until it was in the form of a fully bloomed rose. He let out one last puff of air on the flower, and it instantly hardened to the consistency of glass.

Satisfied with his work, Fai smiled brightly and gently held it out to his mother. "See?" he said earnestly. "The snow isn't bad! It makes flowers too!"

Nora said nothing, her gaze glued to the crystal rose in her son's hands. Warm tears prickled in the corners of her eyes and her throat tightened in panic, but when she caught sight of Fai's joy beginning to slip off his face she quickly blinked the droplets away.

"What's wrong, _Aiti_?" the boy asked, worried.

"Nothing." Nora delicately plucked the flower out of his hands and studied it carefully. The surface was smooth and flawless; the light from the windows and fireplace danced on its petals, making the blossom look as if it contained a sun inside of frail axis. "It's beautiful," she breathed, truthfully this time.

"If you want," Fai went on, excited by his mother's response, "I can make you lots more, so that maybe you won't miss spring so much. I can even make some for Anna - "

"No," Nora cut him off, her dark eyes flashing as she grabbed his arm in alarm. Fai stared at his mother in fear, his face stricken. The woman sighed before letting him go and saying in a gentle voice, "Fai, please do not tell Anna about this."

"Why?" Fai asked, his eyes large in confusion.

Nora hesitated, trying to decide on the best way to word her request. "Some people do not like magic, and you might make them angry."

Fai's blue eyes traveled across the room as he absorbed the statement and eventually landed on the rose in his mother's hand. "What I did was magic?"

Nora nodded, praying he would understand. "Now, I know Anna would not be angry with you, but sometimes things slip out and anger others. Do you remember when you accidentally told Anna her birthday present from Shuichiro?"

Now it was Fai's turn to nod. "He wasn't very happy about that." There was a pause in which the young boy continued to gaze at his creation, his eyes glazed over in concentration. "So," he said slowly, "If I don't tell anyone, I can still make you flowers and no one will get angry?"

Nora let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Yes," she said in relief, smiling broadly. Thanking the Gods for giving her such an obedient son, she opened her arms. "Come here, my little one."

Fai smiled and stepped into her embrace. "Don't worry _Aiti_, I'll make you a whole garden, and no one will ever get mad at us."

"That would be wonderful."


	3. Tenth

I know, I know, it took forever and it even isn't that long. Sorry! Junior year is so much work. X( Well, I hope you enjoy it, and that it sparks your interest in this particular holiday…Bwahaha.

  
  


**Clad in White**

Part III – Tenth

_Lost in a snow filled sky, we'll make it all right to come undone,  
Now we'll try to stay blind to the hope and fear outside,  
Hey child, stay wilder than the wind -  
And blow me in to cry._

_-Duran Duran_

  


"_Aiti_, I'm hungry."

Nora felt a tugging at the hem of her skirts and looked down from her baking; the culprit, a small blond boy of three, gazed back up at her with blue eyes filled with comical distress.

"You just had a cookie, Fai," the woman responded with a small grin at the upturned face, continuing to pound out the dough in her hands. "If you have anything else you will ruin your appetite."

"No I won't!" the boy protested. "_Aiti_, I'm dying of hunger, can I have another cookie please?"

"Fai." Her tone was not so amused now; it warned of a thinning patience.

Fai pouted, knowing when to fight and when to give in. Defeated, he shuffled his way over to the table where he had left his paper and crayon, mumbling something incomprehensible about starvation. Hopping back into the chair, he set to work drawing brown circles with multiple spots sprinkled over them. "Cookie-san _yksi_," he counted aloud as he worked, "cookie-san _kaksi_, cookie-san _kolme_…"

Nora couldn't help but smile and laugh softly as she began tearing the dough into the smaller pieces and twisting them into various shapes. She had been working tirelessly all day preparing for the night's dinner, choosing what she could spare out of the storage house carefully and employing every culinary trick she had ever learned to ensure the meal's success. Chopping, roasting, boiling, poaching, from dawn until midday where she stopped for a brief and meager meal of bread and cheese. Afterwards, she went right back to cooking, all the while worrying she wouldn't have enough time finish. Fatigued from the week's workload, she came close to tears a handful of times when she feared something went horribly wrong, but somehow Fai always managed to pop up beside her with his bright smile and say something whimsical to make her laugh. It was amazing. No matter how exhausted she would get, simply the presence of her son was enough to recharge her and keep her going.

"_Aiti_?" the boy's voice chirped from the table, his legs swinging as he drew and hitting the chair's leg at a steady rhythm. "When are Anna and Chiro coming?"

Nora glanced at him over her shoulder before replying. "In a few hours." She deftly lifted two long snakes of dough by the ends and intertwined them with a flick of her wrists. "Perhaps to keep yourself occupied you can - "

"I'll make a snowman for them!" Fai proclaimed suddenly, leaping up from his seat and bolting for the door. Grabbing his coat and scarf on the way, he burst outside with a happy cry as Nora shouted after him. Not hearing his mother in his enthusiasm – he had been working on his snowmen since his first attempt a month before and was eager to show Anna his improvement – he ran out and immediately began to pile large quantities of snow, intending to make an Anna-snowwoman and a Shuichiro-snowman to greet the couple as they arrived.

After Nora had gone outside and scolded him for leaving so abruptly, she left him outside to his creations and watched him through the window to make sure he was safe, and Fai continued with his work, his tongue sticking out as he concentrated on the task at hand. He had to make the best snowman and snowwoman ever!

Halfway through his first of the pair, Fai heard an unfamiliar sound, a dull roar of voices and music and rhythmic footsteps. Glancing once at the window – his mother was busy chopping and dropping ingredients rapidly into a pot and not paying attention to the window – Fai bolted off in the direction of the commotion, his curiosity peaked. What could it be?

Soon he arrived at the end of the small street and appeared at the main road. His eyes widened as he watched an endless line of soldiers and horses march through the streets, some carrying instruments, others carrying flags, and others still carrying nothing at all. Every now and then in front of a large formation there would be a man or woman clad in an elegant uniform of white and blue, a stark contrast to the black, grey, and red the soldiers wore. They moved differently, somehow; they were more graceful and fluid, and held themselves with more confidence. Power seemed to pour off them in waves, and Fai felt himself shiver, though in fear or in awe he wasn't sure. Oftentimes beside the figure in white there would be another person in a deep blue uniform similar to that of the soldiers, their coats adorned in colorful badges that reminded Fai of candy. As they went down the streets, crowds of people would gather to watch, cheering and singing and sometimes even throwing things like dried flowers and handkerchiefs. The drums sounded loudly, their steady pulse matching Fai's heartbeat and filling him with energy. What was all this? It looked like so much fun!

Racing back home, Fai ran through the snow as fast as his short legs could carry him, eager to tell his mother about his discovery. Bursting into the room, Fai cried out in excitement, "_Aiti_, _Aiti,_ come look!"

Nora, who had been carefully adding spices to one of her dishes, nearly dropped the entire jar into the pot. "Fai!" she gasped, glad to have caught herself. "How many times have I told you to not run in like that?"

"_Aiti_, come on, you have to see!" Fai said, completely ignoring her remark and bouncing on the balls of his feet. Pointing in the direction of the crowd, he continued, "There are lots of people watching more people march down the street and it looks like fun!"

Nora's expression changed from one to impatience to one of grim comprehension. She didn't like what she was hearing. Setting the jar of spices down by the stove and poking her head outside, her frowned deepened as she realized what was going on.

"Get inside, Fai," she said sternly, pushing him in gently and locking the door behind them. Placing the key in her pocket, she disregarded Fai's loud protests and told him to take a nap while they waited for their guests. As he mumbled incoherently about how he wasn't tired and hated naps, Nora went back to her cooking, scowling as she worked. Oh, how she hated this holiday.

  


-o-o-

  


Night had fallen. The fire crackled merrily in the fireplace as Fai waited impatiently by the door for Shuichiro and Anna to arrive. Nora, who had finished the last of the preparations by sunset, was resting in a chair, dozing off lightly as the time ticked by.

"When are they going to get here?" Fai asked, peeking out the window for the sixteenth time in fifteen minutes.

"Be patient, my little one," Nora murmured, never opening her eyes. "They will be here soon."

A second later, there was a knocking at the door, and without even checking to see who it was Fai flung open the door with a cheer. "You're here!"

"Yes, we are!" Anna laughed, swinging the basket she held to the side in order to embrace Fai with one arm.

"Fai!" Nora scolded, now sitting up properly. "How many times have I told you never to open the door without checking to see who it is first?"

Fai pouted, but Shuichiro took a few steps forward and placed a gentle hand on the blond head. "Don't look so glum. Though your _aiti_ is right, you really should make sure you know who it is before you open the door."

"Okay," muttered Fai, making a face at the floor.

Anna laughed once more, coming inside and closing the door behind her and Shuichiro. "You should smile, Fai! Not everyday is a holiday!" She sent him a wide grin as she glided through the room. "Happy Ashura!"

"Please, don't say that name in my house," groaned Nora, rubbing her eyes in fatigue and disgust.

"I still don't see why you hate this holiday so much, it's not as bad as some of the other ones," Anna remarked, placing the basket on the table by the fire.

"I am not fond of the tenth," Nora replied, picking up the basket and taking it into the kitchen. "And you now perfectly why." Anna followed her, saying something Fai couldn't make out. Confused by the conversation, Fai leaned over and tugged on Shuichiro's shirt. "Shuichiro-san," he said, trying out one of the suffixes he had learned, "What is Ah-shoo-rah?"

"Ashura," corrected Shuichiro, looking down at the boy. He had forgotten that Fai was too young to remember any past celebrations. "It means 'tenth'."

"'Tenth?'" repeated Fai. He paused a moment to think. "Is it called Ashurah because it's the tenth day of the month?" he asked.

"Sort of," Shuichiro replied slowly, not sure how much he could say. Glancing towards the kitchen, where Nora and Anna were talking while placing the sweet bread they had brought on a platter, he suggested, "Maybe you should ask your mother about this."

Just then, Nora and Anna entered the room, carrying large plates filled with steaming food. "You better sit down before it gets cold!" Anna sang out.

Glad for the change in subject, Shuichiro nodded towards the table. "Come on, it's time to eat."

Distracted by the delicious smells emitting from the feast on the table, Fai beamed and nodded before scurrying over and taking a seat. "Mm, this smells really yummy!"

  


-o-o-o-

  


The dinner had gone smoothly, with hearty conversation and even heartier food. By the end of the meal, everyone was drowsy, and soon Nora had to excuse herself to tuck Fai into bed. Upon her return, she smiled at her visitors.

"He fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow," she told them as she sat down, feeling rather sleepy herself with the cozy fire nearby. "He must have eaten a lot."

There was a short silence where Shuichiro exchanged a nervous look with Anna before clearing his throat. Nora frowned slightly at their behavior, but chose to say nothing until they had spoken. Still, she had a feeling she knew what they were going to say.

"Nora," began Shuichiro, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and rubbing his anxiously, "You have to tell Fai about Ashura."

"So that is what this is all about," said Nora, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms. She suddenly felt wide awake, alert as a cat and just as defensive.

"Nora, you can't keep Fai hidden away from Ceres forever," Anna said, a note of pleading in her voice as she tried to make her friend understand. "He's going to have to learn about the government and Royal Family one day. Why not start with something innocent like a holiday?"

There was a very pregnant pause in which Nora collected her thoughts and Anna and Shuichiro waited tensely. When she finally did speak, her voice was calm, yet heavy with conviction and laced with anger.

"I will tell Fai about this country when he is old enough to understand it," she said, giving them a very hard look. "Until then, I would rather not expose Fai to things that seem a lifetime and a universe away to him." She said it with such finality that the couple knew there was no use arguing. Sighing, Anna gave Nora a weary look.

"You can't keep him locked away forever," she said softly, a volume not often associated with her. "One day, they _will_ find him."

"I will deal with that when the time comes," Nora said icily. Suddenly changing her tone to a much brighter and merrier quality, she asked, "So, how is Kokuyo, Shuichiro?"

Shuichiro paused, searching for a way to go back to the previous topic and finding none. With a heavy sigh of his own, he replied, "He's doing fine."

And the night went on like this, light discussion with a weighty undercurrent, just as every holiday seemed to end.


	4. Kauppatori

Wow, chapter four! I think this one is the longest so far; I'm not sure. In any case, I throw a lot of new vocabulary at you, so I'm going to add a little list at the end for review in case you need a refresher. :3

I actually have a lot of side information for this story, including a calendar and a map I refer to when talking about Ceres. If anyone's curious about the details of the little world I'm creating, do say so in a review; I'm considering posting side-information on an LJ I own, but I want to be sure my efforts won't be in vain.

Oh, currently I italicize foreign words only in speech, except for _Aiti_, which tends to be italicized everywhere. If that gets annoying and you don't want anything italicized, or you'd prefer all the words to be italicized all the time, or something else like that, say so! I never know when they're necessary and when they're annoying…

Anyway, as usual, I hope you enjoy it!

  
  


**Clad in White**

Part IV – Kauppatori

"_How tragic, then, is youth that lives_

_With enemies, with gallows ropes,_

_How tragic, then, for children on your lap_

_To say: this for the good, that for the bad."_

_--Hanus Hachenburg_

  


Weeks passed, and as they did the old year went with them; before anyone realized it, Fyrst was already gone, the snow turning into grey mush under their feet as the spring air that Thani brought worked its magic on the one immaculate white landscape. Suddenly, snowmen everywhere began to slump over, crying crystal clean tears that fed buds of life struggling against the melting blanket of ice draped over them. While adults everywhere seemed to welcome this sudden change, children like Fai weren't as easily contented; with spring came the end of snowball fights, of snowmen and sleds, of hot chocolate and delicious stew that warmed you from the inside out.

Still, this was the first thawing Fai could observe with conscious eyes, and despite his grief over the end of his beloved snow, his eyes grew wide as all of Ceres seemed to go under a magical spell; he could practically see wisps of light changing everything around him, pale yellows and greens that spoke of future warmth and emerging energy buried deep within the sleeping earth.

It was in the second week of the second month that Fai was allowed to see more than just his street. Somehow, in his three years he had never (as far as he could recall) stepped foot outside of his long, winding street; it seemed to him as if anything they could ever need could be found somewhere in one of its many small shops and houses. His neighbors, eternally fond of their family, never hesitated to retrieve anything they needed, and if they couldn't then Shuichiro or Anna would gladly take up the delivery. This was why, when his mother suddenly declared that they would need to get some herbs for Anna in Kauppatori, Fai found himself giddy with excitement.

"_Aiti_, where are we going again?" he asked for the hundredth time, knowing perfectly well the answer but enjoying the sound of it nonetheless.

"_Kauppatori_, the marketplace," Nora said patiently, wrapping the boy in a thick scarf. Despite the slush, the wind chill was unusually cold that day, and winter clothes were still needed.

"I've never been off the island!" he said excitedly, pushing down the cloth covering his face to allow for easier breathing. He looked up at her curiously. "How are we getting to _Kaopatory_?"

"You will see," she replied, her mouth set in a thin, grim line. Her displeasure was obvious, but somehow in his eagerness Fai missed it.

"_Aiti_, d'you think – " he made a small "oof" as a hat was unexpectedly jammed onto his head – "D'you think I'll make any new friends in _Kaopatory_?" His eyes twinkled in anticipation; as much as he loved the friends he had, there was no one on the street even close to his age. Just imagining the sheer variety of people and ages in the marketplace made his heart swell in joy and his mind race through the possibilities. Maybe his new friend would be a boy with dark hair, or a girl with pigtails…

So caught up was he in images of new comrades that he didn't realize that Nora had been leading him off the island and towards a long wooden bridge until a mass of unfamiliar voices buzzed in his ear. Looking around curiously, he saw two tall lampposts of black steel glittering in the sunlight. They were unlit behind the clear glass, but unlike most lampposts Fai had seen in his short life the tops of these were stretched out to resemble drops of water. He wondered what they looked like when lit.

Beside the bridge were two guards who looked rather flimsy to Fai at first glance, but as he and his mother got closer he realized that they only reason they looked so small was due to the sheer magnitude of the lampposts they stood by. The two men were very young, and Fai wondered if they had been guarding the posts very long. One was thin and lithe, with alert, watchful eyes; he somehow reminded Fai of a large, sneaky cat. The other was much more blatantly powerful, with muscles that looked to be as hard as rock to the touch; this man reminded Fai of a huge, burly dog.

As Nora led Fai to the two men by the bridge's entrance, he stared up at posts, intimidated by their height. He felt so small beside them…Disliking the feeling, he turned instead to the two guards. The strong, dog-like one was speaking to his mother, both of them mentioning something about a slip of paper she held in her hand. His eyes sliding over to the thinner man, the boy saw with surprise that he was being watched with rather curiously and suddenly felt a lot like a mouse.

"Is this your first time crossing the bridge?" asked the guard kindly, and Fai instantly liked him. Unfortunately, it seemed that the phrase "cat got your tongue" was true, because the young blond found himself unable to speak and simply nodded.

The guard chuckled, mistaking his silence for fear. "Don't worry; my friend over there is just checking out your Mom's pass." He nodded towards the other guard.

"You remind me of a big kitty," Fai blurted out, unable to hold it in anymore. He felt his face burn as the implications of his action sank in, and he slunk closer to his mother, his blue eyes fixed on the formidable-looking staff the guard held in his hand. He wasn't going to hurt him for saying that was he? _Aiti_ always said he should think before he spoke, but he couldn't help it…

To his great surprise, the guard laughed heartily, and Fai came out a bit from his mother's side cautiously.

"A big kitty, eh?" he echoed with a playful grin. "Well, if you want, you can call me that. I've never been told I was like a cat before."

"The other guard reminds me of a puppy," his tongue spit out before he could stop himself. His heart sped up in fear; this guard may have liked the nickname, but there was no guarantee that the other one would be as forgiving; he looked so much meaner! "A big one."

"A big puppy, eh?" His eyes twinkled mischievously. "You done over there, Big Puppy?" he called to the other guard, much to Fai's horror. "This is –" he glanced down at the boy and asked softly for his name, to which Fai responded back quickly, "- this is Fai's first time across the bridge, and you don't want to make him wait any longer, do you?"

The other guard looked up from the paperwork, his eyes burning in confusion and obvious distaste from the nickname. "What did you call me?" he said in a low, threatening voice, frightening Fai.

Apparently not hearing the tone in which he was addressed, the willowy guard said smilingly, "C'mon, Big Puppy, hurry up! We've got a line waiting." He winked at Fai, who was staring up at him flabbergasted, a mixture of awe and fear mingled on his face. "He may act big and tough, but he's not as bad as he seems. Don't worry; you have my permission to call him Big Puppy whenever you want."

Gaping at the man he would now refer to as Big Kitty, he merely nodded, unable to believe what had just happened. As Nora finished with Big Puppy with a two new booklets in her hand, she pulled Fai across to the bridge. As the young boy looked back, Big Kitty waved at him merrily while Big Puppy cast dark looks in Big Kitty's direction. He smiled as he decided that he wanted to talk to the pair again one day; they were a lot of fun, even if he only got to speak to them for a few minutes.

Nora and Fai crossed the large and busy bridge at a rather quick pace, but as he looked around all thoughts of Big Puppy and Big Kitty were driven out of his mind. His topaz eyes were large and astounded as they took in all the sights; the clouds so close he could practically touch them if he stretched far enough, the ground so far down below the land looked like uneven green blots of paint on a shimmering blue canvas. As they neared the middle of the bridge, he realized that both the island before him and the island behind him were floating, chunks of civilization sitting upon a crown of sharp, jagged rocks. All around him were islands like these, connected to each other by similar wooden bridges and tear-drop lampposts. As his gaze traveled up, he noticed a grand white palace on the top of the island they were walked towards. Surrounded by wings of light he instinctively knew were caused by magic, it demanded a certain sense of reverence Fai was only too eager to give. Just then, the breeze ticked his face softly, and he shivered in the cold; sinking his head closer into his scarf, his eyes automatically lowered and fell upon grand blue mountains circling the ground below, watching over the lands and its floating islands with a magnificence Fai had never seen before. The entire landscape excited him, making him feel like a bird soaring effortlessly over the clouds, and he tugged on his mother's sleeve, wondering if she was as amazed as he was.

"_Aiti, Aiti_, do you see?" he said breathlessly, his eyes now watching fellow travelers on bridges in the distance. "Do you see the islands, and the water below, and – "

"Yes, Fai, I see them," Nora responded, her voice surprisingly impatient. He looked up and saw that she really wasn't looking at any of them; her eyes were fixed on the island before them, her lips pursed tightly as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. Slightly discouraged by her expression, he wondered he if had said anything wrong.

"Aiti," he said tentively after a short silence, "Is that _Kaopatory_?" He pointed to the island before them, just in case she thought he was referring to another.

Nora gave his pointing hand a brief glance before looking back at the island. "No, that's _Hallitus_."

"I…I thought we were going to _Kaopatory_," he said faintly, confused.

"We are," she said shortly. "In order to get to _Kauppatori_, we have to cross _Hallitus_."

Fai looked around, giving the bridges a more attentive look. Soon, it dawned on him: not all the islands were attached to each other. Most of them were only attached to two others. The only one that seemed to be connected to more than two was Hallitus; he wondered why that was.

Before he could contemplate it any further, he blinked and found that they had already gotten to Hallitus; his home now far behind him, his nervous returned, and as he studied the guards on this island he realized that not all guards were like his Big Puppy and Big Kitty back home.

They crossed Hallitus so quickly the scenery was a blur; he didn't even get another look at the grand palace he had seen earlier. All he could remember afterwards was his labored breathing as he was forced to run to keep up with his mother, and grey, stern buildings inhabited by elegantly dressed adults wearing equally grey and stern expressions.

"Passports," barked one of the guards at the entrance of another bridge, and Fai wondered briefly if they were going back home already. Taking a closer look to their destination, however, he saw that this island was different; its buildings didn't look like the ones he saw back home.

Nora took them out and showed them to the guard, her expression if possible even more sour. After a quick examination, he glanced at his partner and nodded. "Kuopio," he muttered, allowing them to cross.

Noticing that his mother was visibly less tense once she had stepped off Hallitus, he felt it safe to inquire, "_Aiti_, why did he say _Kuopio_ when we crossed?"

"That is the name of our island," she responded, her voice distinctly easier now. "_Kuopio_."

"_Kuopio_," he repeated, tasting the word for the first time. He was certainly learning a lot of new words today.

It was quickly discovered that the bridge crossing never lost its appeal; he was just as easily entranced as before, taking in the new angles as if he was seeing everything for the first time. All too soon they were on Kauppatori, but before he had much time to feel disappointed a new curiosity built up in him.

The island was covered in people, some slipping in and out of stores, others bartering with men behind carts, and others still simply sitting and enjoying some sort of snack. There were people of all shapes and sizes, from men so tall Fai wondered if they could taste clouds to babies so young they were no large than a boot. Best of all, there were children everywhere; some older than him and some younger, but some looked to be about his age. He could scarcely breathe, he was so excited.

Nora led him to a cart found near the middle of the island; as they walked, he wished he had a million eyes and a thousand hands, just to be able to get a good look at everything. The carts were filled with familiar treats and exotic new foods; pet stores were brimming with life and the sounds of animal calls he couldn't recognize; colors and items he didn't even know existed were sold in huge quantities all around him, their sellers and buyers knowing everything about the purchase and giving Fai a thirst for knowledge so strong his throat was parched. He had never been so interested in anything his entire life; he was practically dizzy with curiosity, his heart beating so quickly his face was flushed.

The cart was in a square, where many children were playing by a large fountain in the shape of animals and people with wings. He glanced at his mother – she was busy talking to the merchant and not paying attention – before sneaking off to talk to the kids, light-headed in exhilaration. As he walked closer, he spotted a boy and girl his age, one with dark hair and another with light brown hair and pigtails. He gasped in pleased surprise; it was the boy and girl he had imagined! It was them! They were going to be his new friends!

"Hello!" he said cheerily, now running over to them in his impatience.

"Hi!" said the girl with a bright smile. The boy looked less than thrilled to see him, but nevertheless he brought forth a greeting. "Hey."

"Can I play with you guys?" he asked, unaware of which game he had interrupted but not really caring either way.

"Sure!" said the girl, her smile unwavering. "We were about to have a snowball fight!"

Fai's eyes lit up. He had only had snowball fights with Anna and Shuichiro before, and Nora had always cut them rather short. Even though all they would be armed with was slush, somehow he was sure that this would be the best snowball fight of his life.

"There are no teams," said the boy almost lazily, reaching down and scooping a ball of mushy snow in his hand. "We start...NOW!" He hurled the ball at the young girl, who squealed in pain and laughter. She immediately knelt down and made a ball of her own, and Fai followed suit eagerly. Soon the trio was so caught up in their mirth that it seemed the boy forgot all about disliking him, at least until –

Fai was surprised when he was hit squarely on the side of head. His hat slipped off his head and onto the ground, getting if possible even more soaked in a puddle on the cobblestones by the fountain. He was about to retaliate with a snowball of his own when he realized that they had both stopped in mid-air, the girl hunched over in preparation for making another snowball, the boy's arm frozen in its follow through. They were staring at him, making him very uncomfortable.

"What?" he said, his smile faltering. "What is it?"

"What's wrong with you?" said the boy bluntly, gaping at him unflatteringly.

Fai gave him a bewildered look, but a moment later he felt a soft tugging on his hair; turning, he saw the girl gazing at his hair and stroking it gently, murmuring, "It's so pretty…"

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word in he heard a strange, choked shriek; he cried out as the girl was torn away from him and with her a bunch of his hair. Rubbing the sore spot, he saw through tearing eyes a woman hugging the girl closely to her bosom and giving him such a frightening glare that he slunk back, unsure of what he was guilty.

"Stay away from my daughter," she whispered fiercely. Fai noticed vaguely the little boy running away from the square in the corner of his eye, and the space he had left being filled in by curious onlookers. He wasn't sure if he was just imagining it or not, but it felt like the more people gathered around them, the darker the clouds would get…

"Aiti," the girl squeaked in a tone Fai recognized as one he often used with his own mother. "Aiti, we were just playing, look, his hair is so pre - "

The woman cut her off, practically lifting her daughter and moving the child farther behind her silhouette as if to shield the innocent from Fai. Anger and hatred radiated from the mother's body, poisoning the crowd; before he knew it, there were a thousand eyes glowering down at him with expressions of utmost loathing. The sky rumbled ominously, causing his poor heart to quake and his body to tremble; he shrunk down into himself like a cornered animal, his eyes widening in panic and terror as they searched for a warm, friendly look and found none.

"Don't come back here again," the woman said scathingly. "You horrible little frea -"

"Now that's enough!"

A clear, redeeming voice burst out through the crowd, and it quickly moved to allow the speaker through. Fai saw with almost overwhelming relief his mother striding towards him, a bag of fresh herbs in her hand. Grabbing his hand with her own free one, she wrenched him behind her much like the other mother had done with her daughter and shot the woman a withering scowl.

"Speak that way to my son again, and I will see that you regret it for the rest of your life," Nora growled menacingly. Fai had never heard her voice like that before; waves of security and fear simultaneously washed over him, and he wondered randomly what sort of animal his mother would be.

The woman was obviously very intimidated by the sudden change of events; she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, reminding Fai of a fish, before making a strangled noise like an angry cat and stalking off with her daughter, muttering darkly under her breath. The crowd quickly dispersed, as did the clouds; soon, only Fai and Nora were in the square. Business had gone back as usual, albeit with a few more glances their way as Fai's golden hair shone in the emerging sunlight.

Nora sighed as she bent down and picked up his hat. She gave it a critical look before sighing again and wringing it out, pocketing it when she was through. Fai watched her for a moment before looking down, suddenly very interested in the cobblestones beneath his feet. Hm, that was one lilac, and that one was a little more yellow…

Nora unexpectedly jerked Fai towards a store, and he stumbled after her, his short legs running again as he followed her. This pace was similar to the one they had in Hallitus, and soon he was ushered into a store containing more hats than Fai had ever thought possible.

Unceremoniously plucking a random hat akin to the drenched one in her pocket, Nora quickly paid for it and left, ignoring the gawking cashier. Pulling Fai outside, she knelt down and jammed the hat onto his head, making sure every strand of his hair was concealed before tutting once in satisfaction and heading back towards the bridge.

They crossed the bridges so quickly Fai barely had time to enjoy the feeling of walking on air; all too soon, they were back on Kuopio, zipping past Big Puppy and Big Kitty so quickly he could barely distinguish their faces. Halfway through the trip a painful stitch developed in his side, but unfortunately he was forced to walk through it. By the time they were home it hurt Fai to breathe, the cold air burning in his gasping lungs.

"_Ai_…_Aiti_…" He moaned feebly, pitifully looking up from the chair he had collapsed in. His old scarf and new hat were perched on the table, messily dumped there in his effort to rid himself of the memory of that day.

There was a pause in which Fai could hear the familiar tinkering of glass. "Yes, Fai?" Nora said at last, coming in with a cup of hot chocolate.

Just the sight of the steaming glass lifted Fai's spirits. Taking the cup in his freezing hands and relishing the warmth spreading through his fingertips, he gave his mother a puzzled look. "_Aiti,_ why did that lady hate me so much?" He looked into his steaming mug sadly. "I don't think I did anything wrong…We were just playing…"

Nora gave Fai a wistful look he missed before kneeling down and ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Remember when I told you that some people would get angry over your magic?" she said quietly, giving her son a sad smile. He nodded. "Well, some people might not like the color of your hair either." Her eyes fell, furious with herself for having to say these words. Fai, mistaking her expression for sorrow, imitated her previous action and placed a small hand on her head.

"_Aiti_, it's okay," he said with what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "I guess some people have worse tempers than others, ne? I'll just be more careful and not make them mad anymore." He pointed to the afternoon's purchase with a grin. "I can just wear a lot of hats."

She looked back up at him in disbelief, her eyes wide in incredibility, before embracing her son and laughing weakly. He cried out in surprise and stretched to put his cup on the table, worried about wasting a drop of the steaming drink. "Aiti, you're going to spill my chocolate!" he whined.

"Oh, my little one," she said, letting go of him with a chuckle and stroking his hair gently. Her eyes shone with tears, but Fai wasn't sure why; she was laughing, after all. "Oh, my little one…"

* * *

**Fyrst** – The first month of the year; means "first" in Icelandic.

**Thani **– The second month of the year; means "second" in Arabic.

**Aiti** – Finnish for "Mother".

**Kauppatori** – The middle and lower-class marketplace island; means "marketplace" in Finnish.

**Hallitus** – The government island; means "government" in Finnish.

**Kuopio** – The first and more prosperous of the two middle-class habitation islands; named after a city in northern Finland.


	5. Understanding Hate

Wow, I'm updating again! I wonder if these are getting longer each time, or if I'm just imagining things. This one took me longer than usual to actually write: I sat down on 4 or 5 separate days to finish this. In any case, I hope this is all right; I've never really had to deal with this particular subject (or at least I've never had to explain it before) and while I got an outside opinion on it before I posted this, if it's not done very well do know that I'm inexperienced in explaining such issues.

This chapter is dedicated to Fye-kun.

  
  
  


**Clad in White**

Part V – Understanding Hate

"_Here I am_

_That little boy_

_Who's dreaming and discovering_

_A searching soul_

_Discover why it rains on me_

_Discover why it has to be"_

_-- DI-RECT_

  
  


Fai's first trip to Kauppatori had left him with a strange new emotion he was unacquainted with, and try as he might, he couldn't overcome it. The unpleasant discovery of a feeling called insecurity bothered him greatly, popping up in a sickening wave of nausea whenever he stepped outside of the house. The young boy had never been so severely and openly disliked before in his short life as he had been on that day, and the experience haunted him. Fai had only left the street three times since then, wearing his hat each time and sticking close to his mother's side as she shopped, the urge to play with others children by the tinkling fountain in the center square strong but his fear stronger. His mother avoided taking him to the market island at all costs, and made little effort to hide it; he was often left with a neighbor when she had to run an errand for the pregnant Anna, but Fai didn't mind. Her trips were short, and his neighbors were kind; there was no desire to go back to that island anyway. He was afraid of coming across that fearsome mother again. Not understanding why his hair color had caused such problems with the woman, he took to wearing hats not only on his excursions but whenever he went outside, worried about offending someone else with its golden shine. As long as the last dregs of winter were present it was considered sensible, and his mother even encouraged it; however, Thani passed by quickly, bringing with it the sunnier days of spring and a problem for his newfound dependence.

Spring was considered new to Fai, and he found he liked it very much. There were small boxes placed beneath every window, and he had always wondered why; now that the winter was gone, he discovered they harbored flowers, giving splashes of color to the otherwise dreary landscape. The nights were warmer and the air was sweeter, and before he knew it the heavy coats and thick scarves of Ashura and Fyrst were gone, replaced by thinner and lighter clothing. He felt like he could float in this weather, only needing a good jump to take off like a bird, soaring effortlessly through the cool clouds. Yes, he liked spring a lot.

The only problem with the warmer weather was the needlessness of hats. The first day he realized that wearing a hat would be silly considering the conditions, Fai was almost scared to step out of the door; hats had become a type of security blanket for him, and no matter how the soft breezes and bird songs tempted him from the open windows, he refused to step outside, echoes of that horrible afternoon plaguing him without mercy.

One day, as he stirred from his daily afternoon nap, he thought he heard voices in the main room. One of the voices belonged to his mother, of this he was sure. The second, however, he couldn't place; still, he knew he had heard it before, the name on the tip of his tongue. His curiosity burning, Fai carefully got out of bed and tiptoed to the door, poking his head out of the doorframe and his eyes widening as he realized who the owner of the second voice was.

"Shuichiro, he is not going with you," he heard his mother say in a firm yet weary voice. He couldn't see her from his location, but he was sure she was still hunched over the same pair of pants from that morning; as a part-time seamstress, she was often repairing old articles of clothing, and Fai could recall the image of her working as easily as her voice or her scent. There was no need to see her with his eyes; she was already vivid in his mind.

"Nora, he can't stay in here forever," Shuichiro replied in his perpetually calm voice. Shuichiro, Fai could see: the man was standing across from where Fai guessed his mother was, frowning slightly as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"There is no need for him to go," she insisted again, her voice so unyielding Fai would have given up right there. Shuichiro, apparently, was not so easily swayed.

"He needs to go outside; ever since spring started, he's been too petrified to even play in the streets like he used to." The man sighed, looking to Fai to be unusually tired. Was he okay? "He can't go on like this. The year is far too long."

"And what would you have me do?" Nora retorted, her voice becoming louder. "Let you feed him to the lions?"

"He can't stay here," Shuichiro repeated, stressing each word clearly. "And not everyone is like that woman - " Fai heard his mother start to say something, but Shuichiro cut her off. "The crowd was caught up in adrenaline, not in mutual opinion. You know as much about mob psychology as I do."

There was a pause, and then to Fai's surprise, his mother sighed. "I do not want him to be hurt again. I saw what that hateful woman's words did to him; I do not want it to get worse."

"Keeping him shut away won't help him," Shuichiro said quietly, and Fai noticed the man's voice hadn't changed volume throughout the entire conversation until then. "It anything, it'll just make it worse." Another pause. "Let me take him. If anyone can teach him about it, it's me." Fai was dreadfully curious now; who was this "he" they kept talking about?

Nora sighed again. "Fine," she said in a defeated voice. "Take him. But if anything goes wrong - "

"Everything will be fine," Shuichiro assured her, leaning forward and reaching out his arm. Fai arched his neck; he couldn't see what Shuichiro was touching until he was so contorted it took everything to keep him from falling over; the man was placing a comforting hand on his mother's head, much like she did to him when he was upset.

She nodded, her eyes on her still hands. Before Fai got to see anything else, his balanced waned and he stumbled, tripping over his own feet and causing him to fall ungracefully to the ground with a loud THUMP.

"Fai?" Nora said in a loud, worried voice. He heard footsteps coming his way, and he quickly crawled over to his bed; he didn't want her to know he had been listening in.

"I'm okay," Fai called out. A second later, Nora's head appeared by the door, a concerned expression on her face. "I'm okay," he repeated, in case she hadn't heard him the first time. Nevertheless, she hurried to his side, checking him for any injuries.

Once she was done, she squatted before him, her eyes running anxiously across his face before rubbing her hands against his arms. She looked down at her feet for a moment, seemingly gathering her words, before giving him a shaky smile.

"Shuichiro is going to take you on a walk," Nora said in a strange voice, grasping his arms tighter than necessary. The reason completely lost to Fai, he immediately brightened. He hadn't seen Shuichiro in a long time; he had missed the man's calm presence and honest and patient answers to his barrage of questions. Plus, he had a secret sense of humor that Fai got to see every now and then. He began to bounce eagerly on the balls of his feet; how fun!

"Hurray!" he yelled joyfully, giving his mom a quick hug before dashing outside the room. "Thank you, _Aiti_!" he called out behind him.

Launching himself into Shuichiro's legs, he grabbed on and looked up, beaming at the man's surprised expression. "Let's go let's go let's go let's go!"

Shuichiro smiled and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "All right, let's go."

Fai let go of his companion's legs and stepped back, turning as he heard footsteps indicating his mother's entrance. Waving enthusiastically back at his mother, he sang out, "See you later, _Aiti_!"

"Have fun," she said with a taut smile, waving back stiffly.

  


-o-

  


Shuichiro was a bit surprised to see Fai so excited at first, raising his eyebrows when Fai jumped out and spun around, looking so alive in the bright colors under the beaming sun and relishing the spring breeze that tickled their cheeks and softly warmed them. A dull sense of grim expectation settled over him when Fai's eyes widened as he realized he was actually outside and his body immediately found its way to Shuichiro's side. The wind soon subsided, and a few clouds appeared to block out the sun, covering the landscape in a grey that was all too appropriate for the situation. Resisting the urge to sigh, Shuichiro instead asked the boy what was wrong.

Fai seemed to struggle with his words. "It's…my hat, it's…" He finally gave up, hanging his head down dejectedly. "It's nothing." He lifted his head towards Shuichiro, giving him a horribly false smile that no child should wear and causing the man's heart rate to double in alarm.

"It can't be nothing," Shuichiro said, beginning their walk slowly; it was difficult to move his legs properly with Fai so close to him. "What's wrong?"

Fai bit his lip, looking around cautiously before averting his eyes and studying the ground. "I…I'm scared."

"Of what?" Shuichiro prodded gently.

"Of…" Fai grabbed a hold of Shuichiro's pants and whispered so softly the man had to hunch over to make sure he heard him. "Of people being mad at my hair."

"Your hair?" repeated Shuichiro, straightening. He knew what Fai was talking about, of course; Nora had told him all about it. That's why he was there in the first place. He just wanted to hear Fai talk about it.

Fai nodded, his eyes darting around. "A lady called me – she called me a freak because my hair is yellow," he said quickly, as if simply saying the words out loud would provoke another attack. His grip on the man's leg tightened in worry.

Shuichiro frowned. The boy's memory was, unfortunately, very good; he seemed to remember the angry mother's words perfectly. "Do you know why?" he asked Fai.

Fai frowned, and Shuichiro wondered if he was struggling with something. "_Aiti_ said it's because it just makes some people angry." His face crumpled. "I don't know."

No wonder, Shuichiro thought. She probably hadn't really bothered to explain it to him. He stared ahead for a few moments, gathering his thoughts before speaking. "Fai," Shuichiro said at last, looking back down at the blond clutching his leg, "What do you see?" Shuichiro then proceeded to roll up his sleeve and show his forearm to the boy.

"An arm?" Fai said uncertainly, his eyes confused.

"What color is it?" Shuichiro rephrased patiently.

"It's, um…" Fai frowned slightly and hesitantly lifted up his own arm, stopping as he did so. Shuichiro followed suit, watching the child carefully. Charily rolling back his own thin sleeve, he stared at his arm pensively for a moment before reaching up; Shuichiro, anticipating what Fai was going to do, quickly knelt down. The young boy held his arm out beside the man's, his brow furrowed as he compared the two.

"Yours is darker," he said at last, sounding as if it was noticing this for the first time.

Shuichiro smiled. "Yes, it is."

Fai turned to him, and Shuichiro could tell his curiosity was beginning to resurface despite the fear. "Why?"

"Where I come from, everyone is this color," he explained. "The sun is a lot hotter there and shines a lot longer, so we have dark skin to keep from getting burned."

"Burned?" Fai looked like he had a million questions, and Shuichiro smiled. This kid was something else. "But…wait, why am I lighter?"

"It's not as sunny here," Shuichiro replied. Fai looked up briefly at the sky, as if wondering how any place could be sunnier than his own Ceres.

Bringing his head down, he glanced from their arms to Shuichiro's face. "But…what does that have to do with my hair?"

This was the hard part. Rolling his sleeve back down, Shuichiro settled down for a long talk. "Since it's not as sunny here, everyone has lighter skin than I do, and that makes me different. Differences are good, and are what make life interesting; however, some people fear change, because they like what they have already. When they see me with darker skin, these people see something different and become afraid, and when someone is afraid they tend to want to protect themselves." He paused, studying Fai; he was trying to keep this as simple as possible – after all, the kid was only 3 – but it was harder than he thought it would be.

"How do they do that?" Fai asked slowly, though Shuichiro could tell the boy thought he already knew the answer.

"They act mean," he answered. "When someone is mean, they make someone else afraid; they're want to make the different person afraid so they'll go away and nothing will change."

Fai looked thoughtful for a moment. "Were they mean to you?" he finally asked in a tentative voice.

Shuichiro nodded. "They acted like that mother did to you; they yelled at me and called me names and told me to go away."

Fai suddenly looked sad. "What did you do?" he asked, his eyes begging for an answer to the question he had been asking himself for weeks.

"I ignored it," Shuichiro said simply. "They're mean because they're afraid of me, and because they don't know me. They don't see the person I am inside; they don't see that I get happy and sad and hungry like they do – they only see the dark color of my skin, and how strange it looks compared to theirs." He paused. "The woman was afraid of your hair because most people in this country don't have blond hair. It's a very rare trait. Because of that, she got scared because it looked strange to her, and so she treated you badly."

Now for the tricky part; if he didn't explain this correctly, he may cause Fai to be angry and defensive to anyone who attacked him. He didn't want that. Placing a hand on Fai, he stressed his words carefully as he spoke, knowing this next part of his speech was important. "I know why people are mean to me, and I take care not to hold it against them. I'm not going to hate someone because they're afraid or because they don't know or understand something; that doesn't make me any better than the other person. If I can, I try to show them that the only difference between us is color and that deep down we're the same, but if they can't believe that, then I accept it and move on." He gave Fai what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Most people aren't as afraid as that woman was on Kauppatori, but even if they are afraid, show them that they don't have to be."

His eyes watched Fai's face apprehensively, the smallest of breezes playing with the boy's hair as he took everything in. Shuichiro knew that this was an excellent workout of what Anna liked to call his "fatherly traits", but this was such a difficult subject to tackle he wasn't sure if he had done a good job. Everything he said right now would affect Fai's development later…was he ready to accept such a responsibility if he hadn't done a good job?

The boy's crumpled brow smoothened, a light of comprehension sparked in his sky blue eyes, and his lips slowly began to curve upward in what Shuichiro recognized as a tiny but genuine smile. Immensely relieved, Shuichiro gave the child a smile of his own, glad to see the blond's spirits had gone up.

"So I shouldn't be scared of people, because they're scared too, right?" Fai said with an enthusiastic look in his eye. He seemed happy to finally have found a satisfactory answer to his question, and Shuichiro nodded.

"Right." He rubbed the boy's hair affectionately and straightened up. Beginning to walk again, Fai trotted along beside him like a puppy following its master, his expression growing more and more cheerful, the sun feeling warmer and warmer with every passing second and lifting their moods even more.

After a few quiet but content minutes of walking, Fai asked with his old sense of curiosity, "Have you ever seen anyone like me?"

"Like you?" Shuichiro repeated, a bit confused.

"Mmhmm." Fai nodded before elaborating. "With hair like mine."

"Oh." Shuichiro didn't have to think very long to come up with his answer. "Yes."

Fai perked up so much so fast it almost frightened Shuichiro. "Really? Who? Do they live here?"

"No, I knew the person when I lived in my old country," Shuichiro explained, his good mood evaporating. He didn't quite feel up to talking about the particular subject, but as was to be expected, Fai was relentless in his questioning.

"What's he like? Can I meet him? What _is_ your old country named anyway?" A flood of questions came Shuichiro's way like a mountain river after the first thaw, crashing and swift and _loud_. Well, at least the kid wasn't as introverted as he was before.

"My old country," Shuichiro began, feeling it was the easiest answer to give, "is called _Inari_."

"Inari," Fai repeated in order to remember it.

"Right." Shuichiro cleared his throat. "The person I knew was one of the few I've ever seen – besides you, of course -" Fai beamed "that had golden hair. She wasn't from Inari, though. She had migrated there from another country."

"There's _another country_?" Fai said incredulously, unable to believe there were more than two.

Shuichiro chuckled despite his growing unease. "Yes, called _Ostrova._"

"Ostrova," Fai repeated again.

The man nodded. "It's near Inari, but far from Ceres."

"What was he like?" Fai asked in a dreadfully curious voice.

Shuichiro fidgeted uncomfortably. "_She_," he said, not wanting to distort her memory, "was a very kind and beautiful person." He smiled sadly, remembering the woman vividly in his mind. "Her name was Kohaku."

"Kohaku?" Fai cocked his head to the side curiously.

"It means amber," Shuichiro added. He sighed and looked up to the sky; it had been a long time since he had lost thought about her. "Her eyes and hair were both a golden honey color. In a country where everyone has dark hair and eyes, she stood out like a sore thumb." He laughed a little, glancing back down at Fai. "Kind of like you."

"How did you meet her?" Fai unconsciously brushed away a stray strand of hair from his face.

"I was sick," Shuichiro began, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking forward, his eyes distant. "And I wasn't getting better. I lived with my brother back then, but he wasn't a doctor; he had no idea of what to do to make me better. Finally, when I developed a high fever, he took me to the nearest hospital.

"Kohaku was the newest member of the medical staff, fresh from school. Since she was still a bit clumsy, they kept her away from serious cases at first and let her deal with patients that didn't require surgery." He chuckled and looked down for a moment, remembering the girl's antics. "She was my doctor. That's how I met her."

"Whoa…" Fai's eyes widened. "You got better, right?"

Shuichiro chuckled again. "Yes. I did."

Just then, a bell interrupted their conversation, a man with a cart pushing through the street inviting people to buy a treat at the top of his voice. Shuichiro glanced at Fai, noticing with more than a hint of amusement the drool beginning to drip out of the corner of the boy's mouth. "Do you want one?"

Fai looked up at Shuichiro, his eyes lighting up. "Really?"

Shuichiro nodded towards the cart. "Let's go buy one."

As Fai bolted towards the cart, frightening the man with the bell so much he dropped it, Shuichiro followed after him slowly, his mind drifting as his hands automatically reached for his wallet. Fai was a very fragile person, he began to realize. One incident had caused such a dramatic change in his behavior and outlook on life; granted, it was enough to scar anyone, but it alarmed him to see such an enormous effect on a boy of three. How much deeper would these effects become as he grew in age?

Fai had a thirst for knowledge and for satisfactory answers, and when he didn't find them they ate him up inside, damaging him slowly. Sure, the answers would be easy to find for now; however, as he got older, they would gradually grow more difficult to accept. What was Fai going to do when the answers he searched for weren't the ones he wanted? What about _those _effects?

Approaching the cart, Shuichiro watched the blond with sad eyes. The older Fai got, the more unpleasant the world would become; he would need a lot of support to face the challenges he was bound to face. Understanding now how deeply Fai could be traumatized and molded, Shuichiro vowed with all his might to protect and help him as much as he possibly could. This boy was far too precious to allow for him to fight on alone.


	6. Celebration

Sorry I took so long to update! I would assure you the next update will be faster, but seeing as I tend to break those promises I'd rather not. :x

I am fully aware of the fact that CLAMP has completely and utterly slaughtered my plot. Oh well. Too bad. :p I hope this version, while so obviously not the correct one, is still rather interesting. :3

Please note that starting from here I will be spelling it Celes, not Ceres. Fai, however, will most likely stay the same throughout the story simply because I prefer the way it looks and I'm far too used to it. I may change it to Fay later, but we'll see.

Oh yes! Before I forget, Happy Birthday Fai! In case you're curious, the date of Fai's birthday in this story calculates to July 2, which is why I was so determined to post this today. Yay!

  
  
  


**Clad in White  
**

Part VI - Celebration

"_The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate."_

_-- Oprah Winfrey_

"_One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them."_

_-- Virginia Woolf_

  
  


The passing of seasons, with its mystifying and continuous cycle of death and rebirth, has healed and enchanted many over the centuries, and the young Fai was no exception to its bewitching qualities. The change in weather proved good for the boy: longer days meant more playtime, more life. His blue eyes soon resembled the sky, a clear and pure blue that sparkled with the promise of hope, instead of dulled pools of old water, hard and dirty; his hair was that of the sun, luminous and soft with an irresistible touch. Magic flowed out of the earth like cornstalks, thick ribbons of emerald and gold shooting out and wrapping itself around every living thing it could find; the world around and below the floating islands appeared as if a hand had liberally painted green across the previously gray canvas and made it more alive than Fai could ever remember seeing before. Everything looked so fertile and so brilliant and so gloriously joyful that Fai began to wonder if perhaps the incident at Kauppatori had merely been a dream.

Nevertheless, it was clear that while Shuichiro's words and the increasingly thermal climate had quelled many of Fai's reservations, they hadn't eradicated the child's worries completely; all through Thaleth and the beginning of Rabe, cautiousness pervaded the boy's mannerisms. It was obvious that staying inside when the weather was so deliciously tempting was paining him greatly; the breeze would constantly waft in through the open windows and caress Fai's cheek, producing a longing sigh from the child. He tried wearing hats while outside the house, but the heat gave him a throbbing headache; while fashioning odd little turbans out of scarves had been tolerable in the spring, all they managed to accomplish in the summer was to dehydrate him even faster while slipping off his sweaty forehead. As the rain warmed and the air sweetened, there were less and less excuses for him to cover his golden locks; as time passed and eyes continued to smile towards him, he found that perhaps there wasn't a need to.

- o -

"_Aiti, Aiti, _hurry up!" Fai cried out impatiently as he prepared for his launch from the kitchen chair to one of the cushioned chairs in what his mother liked to call "the sitting area". Swinging his arms as if preparing to ski, he catapulted into the air and made a crash-landing into the seat, nearly knocking it over and causing him to erupt into laughter.

"Fai," his mother scolded in an edgy voice as her hands quickly finished folding the last of her finished work, "If you continue to misbehave we will not go anywhere today."

The boy's laughter abruptly stopped, and Fai sat up, gazing at his mother with a horrified expression. "N-no!" he uttered in a choked voice, utterly aghast. "We _have _to go! It's my _birthday_! I – I'm turning - " he frantically counted out four finger on one of his hands and held them out for his mother indignantly – "I'm turning _four_!"

His mother was obviously unimpressed by his argument, for she continued to bustle about the house at her steady pace, tidying about like a mother hen unsatisfied with her nest. "I would not care if you are turning twenty," she admonished, packing away her sewing materials, "you are not going to Anna and Shuichiro's house if you do not behave."

Fai remained perched on the seat after that, his eyes watering dangerously and his body twitching in anxiety as he waited for his mother to finish whatever it was that she was doing. Images of cake and sweets danced about in head, making his mouth and his mind start hallucinating; before long he was chewing on the edge of a pillow, convinced it was a cookie.

Finally, after what felt like hours, his mother picked up the basket she had prepared for the visit the night before; Fai jumped up immediately, the soggy pillow left forgotten on the chair as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.

The two left the house together, Fai led along easily by his mother's hand. As they walked, he wondered where exactly Shuichiro and Anna lived; he had never actually been to their house before, even though they had come over plenty of times. In fact, Fai realized, they had been coming over less and less as the weather had warmed up; the last he had seen Anna it was a month ago, and Shuichiro maybe two weeks after that. Anna's stomach was much larger than usual back then; when he asked why, the adults explained that it was because she was pregnant. He wasn't entirely sure what that meant, except that Anna's appetite got bigger and she ate a lot more. He was really hungry right now, he thought as he looked down and poked his stomach. Did that mean he was pregnant too?

They had stopped much sooner than he had anticipated, and Fai looked around eagerly, hoping to spot Anna and Shuichiro's home. But no, they hadn't arrived at their final destination; all he saw were two imposing posts before him, the glass lamps on top glinting in the sunlight. Standing beneath them were two figures Fai had seen before.

"Big Puppy!" Fai let go of his mother's hand and waved madly at the two figures. "Big Kitty!"

The tall willowy man looked up from the passbook he had just stamped and waved back, a big grin gracing his thin features. "Hey there, kid! How are ya?"

Fai beamed, launching himself at the young man's legs. His mother caught Big Kitty's eye and nodded before walking over to Big Puppy, allotting the burly man to take care of the paperwork and allowing her son to speak to the other guard. Big Kitty nodded back as he affectionately ruffled Fai's hair; he'd watch after the child as she dealt with Big Puppy.

"Guess what?" Fai said excitedly. "It's my birthday today!"

"Really, now?" Big Kitty gave Fai a sparkling smile. "You're growing up before my eyes! How old are you now, fifty?"

"No!" Fai giggled, his arms still clasped tightly around the guard's legs. "I'm four!"

"Ah, four," Big Kitty said dreamily, his eyes distant. "I remember four. That was a good year."

The blond watched him reminisce curiously for a few seconds before interrupting. "Big Kitty?" he asked, cocking his head to the side a little.

Big Kitty blinked and looked down just in time to see the blond hair tumble across Fai's blue eyes. Grinning, he brushed it away and said appraisingly, "You're going to be a real lady killer when you get older."

"What?" Fai looked up, eyes wide and alarmed. He let go and stepped back hesitantly. A killer? What did he mean? He didn't really hate him too, did he? "What do you mean?"

Big Kitty laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Whoops, that sounded bad. It means that when you're older you'll probably attract a lot of girls to you."

Fai looked at Big Kitty, stepping forward tentatively. "Y'mean like as friends?"

Big Kitty grinned and winked. "You could say that." He paused for a moment before reaching into his pocket; a second later he produced a sweet, brightly wrapped in yellow with a drawing of a duck on the wrapper.

"_Hyvaa syntymapaivaa_!" he said with a pleased smile. "I know it's not much, but it's my favorite flavor."

"Yay!" Fai took it happily and gobbled it up without hesitation. It was the sucking kind of candy, the type that lasts for twenty minutes or so, more if you're lucky and don't move it around too much. As he reveled in lemon taste, he looked at the picture on the wrapper, thinking the picture cute. Pocketing it, he beamed again, the candy held between his teeth.

"It's yummy," he said, popping back in his mouth gleefully.

"What do you say?" a voice said from behind Fai, making him jump in surprise. Looking back, he saw his mother smiling at him. "Well?"

"Oh, yea!" Fai cleared his throat before bowing grandly before the guard before him. "_Kiitos!_" he said cheerfully, standing back up. Big Kitty smiled; when the kid said it, it sounded like he was singing.

"You're welcome," the young man replied with a little bow of his own. Nora rolled her eyes, mumbling something about making too big of a show under her breath.

"All right, let's go now," Nora said, taking his hand and dragging him off.

"_Nakemiin_, Big Kitty, Big Puppy!" Fai called, pumping his arm back and forth furiously.

"Bye! And have a great day!" Big Kitty called. Big Puppy merely looked back and nodded before returning to his duties.

Crossing the bridge had always been fun for Fai, but somehow the fact that it was his birthday made everything ten times more interesting. Birds were flying everywhere, some passing so closely he could feel the tips of their wings brush his face; he felt like he was one of them, flying in a huge flock into the white cotton clouds puffed up above their heads. The breeze was gentle, and tickled his face. The sun beamed down on them gently and warmed him from the inside out. It was wonderful.

"Where are we now, _Aiti_?" Fai asked once they had arrived at the other end of the bridge. Looking around and finally noticing a difference in architecture, it suddenly occurred to him that Anna and Shuichiro lived on a completely different island.

"We're on _Laiha_," his mother told him once their paperwork was finished.

"Laiha?" Fai absorbed the new vocabulary as he gawked at the island, his eyes wide as they took everything around him in.

The island itself was a habitation island like Kuopio, consisting mostly of houses carved out of the stone and a few small businesses specializing in trades such as snacks or repair. Unlike Kuopio, however, the houses were undoubtedly square; at least on Kuopio, the homes had rounded edges and the occasional cylinder tower rose up from all the homes, interrupting the monotony. It gave the entire island a sort of unwelcome feeling, stern and sharp and bitter. The stone on Laiha was less taken care of as well; it was a grimy ominous color that made the stone on Kuopio look white, and left a dark dust on the hand when touched. A few flower pots in some of the scarce windows served to brighten up the area, but all in all it seemed a dismal place, a poor shadow of his home island.

Fai felt distinctly uncomfortable here; everyone kept staring at him. Some stares were curious, but not malignantly so; others gazed upon the mother and child almost rudely, making no effort to disguise their actions. A few had angry expressions, which caused Fai to recoil behind his mother. A couple of people paid him no heed; a glance to make sure they didn't trip over him was all they gave him, and oddly enough he found himself liking those people the best. At least they didn't treat him any differently.

After what felt like an eternity, they stopped before one of the few houses with a flowerpot on the window. Fai stared at the cheerful red flower as his mother knocked; a few seconds later, he heard the sound of footsteps nearing them and the door opened.

"Nora!" Anna cried, her arms opened wide. "It's so good to see you!" Her belly was quite large and round, and Fai wondered how much she could eat.

"Anna," Nora greeted warmly, stepping forward for a gentle hug. His mother smiled. "I see you are nearing the date," she said, gently patting Anna's belly. Fai found this very odd.

Anna tittered a little. "I can't wait," she said. As if noticing him for the first time, Anna looked at Fai in surprise.

"Who is this?" she asked, confusing the boy. "I don't remember there being a man in the family. Who is this charming young fellow?"

Fai giggled, recognizing the joke for what it was. "I'm not that old!" he retorted, though his smile gave him away. "I'm only four."

"Four?" Anna put a hand over her mouth in surprise. "But that's so old!"

"Anna," said a voice from inside, "Invite them in before you catch a cold."

Anna rolled her eyes. "As if I can catch a cold in the middle of summer," she muttered, but her eyes danced good-naturedly. "Come on in," she said, stepping back and allowing them to step through the threshold.

The house inside was barer than what Fai was accustomed to, but it was nicely furnished and quite cozy nevertheless. Spotting Shuichiro setting the table near the back of the room, Fai bolted to his friend. Latching onto his legs, Fai squealed into Shuichiro's pants, "Yay, I get to see you again!"

Shuichiro smiled as he deftly unhooked the child from his person. "_Hyvaa syntymapaivaa, _Fai-kun" he said to the boy, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Oh yea!" Anna slapped her forehead lightly with the palm of her hand, scolding herself and rolling her eyes. "How could I forget to tell you that? _Hyvaa syntymapaivaa_, Fai!"

"_Kiitos!_" he cried back in joy. Fai was so happy he looked ready to start bouncing off the walls again, but Nora quickly prevented that.

"Is it time for lunch yet?" she spoke up. Normally she wouldn't bring up such a topic, but she knew food was one of the few things Fai would stop for – if she was lucky. Today was a different case, especially since she had taken care to give Fai a slightly smaller breakfast that morning.

Fai looked from his mother to Anna to Shuichiro and back in impatience. "Food?" he asked, sniffing around curiously, poking his head everywhere it would fit in an effort to find the source of the smell. "Where?"

-o-o-

"That was delicious," Nora complimented as she daintily dabbed her lips with a napkin.

Fai nodded in agreement, so much in agreement that he nearly made himself dizzy. "It was great! _Kiitos!_" He was getting a lot of use out of that word today.

The meal had been quite a feast, consisting of all of Fai's favorite foods, regardless of the season. Thick, fried, steaming dumplings, fat with meat and chunks of vegetables and made to last a man through the cold days of Ashura and Fyrst; crunchy, thin vegetable strips that refreshed the palate splendidly with their fresh, sweet, spring-inspired sauce meant to celebrate the warm days of Khaames and Karura; rolls of delectable fresh bread that were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, both buttery sweet and salty and a pleasure for the palate – they were all there and more, every dish Fai had ever loved on the table just waiting to be eaten. And they were. Fai felt like he was about to explode.

"Ooh," he moaned; he had slowed down, and suddenly the weight of the food made itself noticed in his small bloated stomach. "My tummy hurts."

Anna stifled a laugh, making a move to stand up. "That's what happens when you eat so much, Fai - "

"Don't get up," Shuichiro interrupted from beside her, placing a hand on her arm and gently pushing her back down. "I'll do the dishes."

Anna gave him a grateful smile as he began collecting the plates. Turning to Nora, she exchanged an excited look with his mother before asking, "Hm, I wonder what we should do now…"

Fai perked up immediately. "Cake!" he sang out, his arms held up over his head and his stomach ache forgotten. The adults chuckled, and Nora stood to help Shuichiro gather the dishes and take the confection out.

When Anna and Fai were alone, she gave him a odd look he had never seen before, and Fai tilted his head to the side in puzzlement. "What is it, Anna-chan?" he asked.

There was a slight pause before she leaned forward slightly, her large belly preventing her from reaching the table. "Do you know what it means when someone is pregnant?"

Fai shook his head. "Does it mean you get really really hungry?" he asked, voicing a thought he had had many times before. "Because, I mean, I get really hungry too, but my tummy never gets _that_ big - "

Anna laughed, a full laugh that reached her shoulders and made Fai grin. "No, it doesn't," she said, her eyes dancing. She waited a moment, a mischievous smile on her face, before she waved the child towards her. "Come here."

Fai hopped up and skittered to her side, wondering what she was planning. She took his hand and placed it on her stomach, something Fai found rather strange, and whispered, "Wait for it."

A second later, something extraordinary happened – he felt a kick. His blue eyes wide, he looked at her, bewildered. "Did _you_ do that?"

Anna bit her lip to keep from laughing. "No, it was the baby," she explained.

The blond's eyes grew even wider, if possible. "A _baby_?" he squeaked, his gaze moving back to her stomach. "You have a _baby_ in there?"

Nodding, she continued, "That's what it means to be pregnant. It means a woman is about to have a baby and become a mother, an _aiti_."

"So you're going to be an _aiti_ soon too?" It had never occurred to Fai that a woman wasn't always an _aiti_, that she had to become pregnant in order to be one, though now that he thought about it, it was a mystery how he hadn't come to a similar conclusion earlier. Surely, his _aiti_ hadn't always been one.

"Say," Anna said slowly, her smile a bit more hesitant now, "Have you ever wanted a little brother or sister?"

Fai brightened. "Of course!" His eyes sparkled with the very idea. "I've always wanted one! Y'know, so I could play with someone whenever I wanted and we could be friends and stuff."

Anna beamed. "Well, when this baby is born - "

"When's that going to be?" asked Fai impatiently, forgetting his manners.

"Soon," Anna chuckled, encouraged by his enthusiasm. "When this baby is born, would you mind being its big brother?"

Fai stared at Anna, unable to believe his ears. "Y'mean…I'll have a little brother?"

"Or sister," Anna added.

There was a pause before Fai draped himself over Anna's large stomach. "I'd love to be!" He looked down, trying to see through Anna's belly and spot his future sibling. "We'll play all the time," he said to the unborn child, his ear pressed against Anna in hopes of hearing a response. "Okay? I'll teach you how to count and how to build a snowman and the best way to pick your vegetables out of your food. Oh! And I'll take you to meet Big Kitty and Big Puppy! I know you'll like them, they're really nice…"

And that's how Nora and Shuichiro found the pair, smiles on their faces as they visualized the near future.


End file.
